California music accessories brand Gruv Gear is proud to feature Bassist Stewart McKinsey. Stewart is part of a family of prominent world-class musicians that heartily endorse Gruv Gear products.
Stew McKinsey comes from a family where creativity was encouraged. Singing in choirs as a boy, he also studied violin, recorder, flute, piano and trombone. But it wasn't until he saw a friend's punk band play that he saw, heard and felt the instrument that has become his voice: the electric bass. Within a month of picking it up, he was gigging.
Once he heard Anthony Jackson, Jimmy Haslip and Jimmy Johnson playing below the bottom E of a 4 string, he was driven to explore that range and sought out one of the first 5 string basses available. Soon after that Stew began studying with Steve Bailey who opened the possibilities of the instrument's upper register to the developing bassist.
Within minutes of playing 6 string for the first time, the thought of an 8 string instrument -- one which went both lower and higher than the 6 -- took root in his mind. It took more than a decade to find a luthier who would take on the project but he has never looked back.
In addition to his work as a solo artist, sideman, teacher and clinician, Stew is a columnist for Britain's popular Bass Guitar Magazine and his regular feature, The Extended Range Specialist, is read by players all over the planet every month.
About Gruv Gear:
Gruv Gear exists to bring innovative and well-thought out products to creative professionals and beyond, including career musicians, DJs, photographers, filmmakers, mobile producers and more. The company is on- track not only to become a premium lifestyle accessories brand in the Music/DJ and Photo Industries, which is a small fraction of its potential market, but also expand to a broader range of industries that will increase its global footprint exponentially. To date, Gruv Gear products are sold in 5 continents and shipped directly to adoring fans worldwide.